Interview with Mario Biondi: I usually say that the music is the place of the soul: Video

Jazz interview with a bad musician, as if singer Mario Biondi. An interview by email in writing. 

JazzBluesNews.Space: – First let’s start with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music?

Mario Biondi: – I grew up in Sicily in a family very into music, in fact my dad and my grandmother were singers, they got me fall in love with music.

JBN.S: – What got you interested in picking up the jazz vocal? What teacher or teachers helped you progress to the level of playing you have today? What made you choose the jazz vocal?

MB: – I did not pick up the jazz vocal, the jazz picked me up. I never studied the jazz vocals, it is just the way I can express myself in the best way.

JBN.S: – How did your sound evolve over time? What did you do to find and develop your sound?

MB: – I experimented several genres from funk to pop to jazz but my sound is constantly developing and in research. It is also thanks to my kids that let me be in contact with different kinds of music. My inspiration comes from everywhere.

JBN.S: – What practice routine or exercise have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical ability especially pertaining to rhythm?

MB: – There is no real practice or exercise I do. I think that the contrast and the sharing your ideas with other musicians is the best school you can do to develop your sound and improve your rhythm.

JBN.S: – Which harmonies and harmonic patterns do you prefer now?

MB: – There is no pattern I prefer now, I just let music drives me through the realization of a record.

JBN.S: – Which are the best jazz albums for you of 2017 year?

MB: – I really love the last record from Thundercat.

JBN.S: – What’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

MB: – It all starts form the soul but my nature is perfectionist and it makes me want to fix everything the best I can. Sometimes you just must stop in order to keep the naturalness of the record.

JBN.S: – Please any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

MB: – I think one of the best memories comes from that time Al Jarreau took part at a gig of mine from the side stage and was there for the whole show being so supportive and excited for me. It was unbelievable!

JBN.S: – Which collaboration have been the most important experiences for you?

MB: – I loved collaborating with Al Jarreau of course, but also with Bluey, Incognito and in Italy with the great Pino Daniele.

JBN.S: – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of the standard tunes are half a century old?

MB: – Today there is a major come-back to the past and a revival of the vintage and many young people are into it. I have so much hope in the new generations, in their curiosity and interest in the matter.

JBN.S: – John Coltrane said that music was his spirit. How do you understand the spirit and the meaning of life?

MB: – I usually say that the music is the place of the soul.

JBN.S: – What are your expectations of the future? What brings you fear or anxiety?

MB: – The way music is seen and enjoyed today is changing a lot thanks to the new digital resources and for the people like me that live on this is a bit alarming because we do not know where it is going next.

JBN.S: – If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

MB: – I would so something to change the way the radio works today, especially in Italy. The 70% of the music is international and only the 30% is Italian and we have to do something to protect our music culture.

JBN.S: – What’s the next musical frontier for you?

MB: – I would like to make a record on my own, without the intervention of the labels and the rules that they establish today.

JBN.S: – Are there any similarities between jazz and world music, including folk music?

MB: – Music is music, when it is artifice free it is the same for everyone.

JBN.S: – Who do you find yourself listening to these days?

MB: – These days I am really into Thundercat.

JBN.S: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really wanna go?

MB: – I would like to go back to those days when I used to stay at Pino Daniele’s place and he woke up me every morning to the sound of his guitar.

JBN.S: – I have been asking you so far, now may I have a question from yourself…

MB: – Could you suggest me a new jazz musician from Boston?

JBN.S: – Thank you for answers. Please Karen Kocharyan – drummer.

Interview by Simon Sargsyan